VoiceMeeter / Documentation / Editions
VoiceMeeter editions compared
Three builds, one installer. Standard is the entry edition, Banana is the one most people actually want, Potato is the professional build. The differences are strip count, bus count, patchbay depth, VBAN and the recorder — not audio quality.
Side by side
| Feature | Standard | Banana | Potato |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input strips | 3 (2 hardware + 1 virtual) | 5 (3 hardware + 2 virtual) | 8 (5 hardware + 3 virtual) |
| Hardware buses | A1, A2 | A1, A2, A3 | A1–A5, per-bus inserts |
| Virtual outputs | B1 | B1, B2 | B1, B2, B3 |
| Patchbay | No | Full 8×8 matrix | Full matrix, per strip and per bus |
| Per-strip EQ | 5-band | Advanced multi-band | Advanced multi-band, per-bus sends |
| Gate / compressor | Per strip | Per strip plus bus processing | Per strip plus bus processing |
| VBAN | No | Yes | Yes, multiple streams |
| Multitrack recorder | No | No | Yes, one file per bus |
| ASIO | No | Yes | Yes |
| License | Free to download and use. Standard has no paid tier; Banana and Potato offer an optional paid license that removes the donation reminder. | ||
Standard
Two hardware inputs and one virtual device, mixed into two outputs. It is the smallest configuration that solves the classic problem: hear your microphone and your PC at the same time, with a gate and an EQ on the voice, and send the result somewhere.
Pick Standard if you have one microphone and one pair of headphones, you want system audio and voice in the same call or stream, and you would rather not learn a patchbay to get there.
Move up when you need three or more simultaneous virtual inputs — game, music and voice chat that must be controlled separately — or more than two hardware outputs.
Banana
Five strips, three hardware buses and a full patchbay. This is the edition that stops different audio sources competing for one stream: the game, the music, the voice chat and your microphone each get their own strip, and each can be sent to a different combination of outputs.
Pick Banana if you stream, record, or take part in calls while gaming, and you want the music channel separate from your voice without a second machine. This is the recommendation for most people arriving from a single virtual cable.
Potato
Eight strips, five hardware buses, three independent virtual devices, inserts on every bus and a multitrack recorder that writes each bus to its own file while you work.
Pick Potato if you run a studio rack or a broadcast desk, need stems afterwards, need audio over the LAN with VBAN, or need a third virtual device for a DAW return or a second PC.
What the three virtual devices mean in practice
| Device | Editions | Typical job |
|---|---|---|
VoiceMeeter Input (VAIO) | All | Windows default playback: game, browser, media player. |
VoiceMeeter AUX Input | Banana, Potato | Voice chat, so it can be muted on the stream bus without touching the game. |
VoiceMeeter VAIO3 Input | Potato | Music, a second PC, or a DAW return that must stay independent. |
Switching edition
- Download the current package from voicemeeter.xyz/download.
- Run the installer as administrator. It detects the existing build and replaces it in place.
- Reboot. The new virtual devices are only enumerated after a restart.
- Open the edition you want. Settings are shared, but a routing that referenced a bus the smaller edition does not have will be dropped — check A1 and your bus sends first.
Downgrading. Going Banana → Standard or Potato → Banana removes devices. Any application pointed at VoiceMeeter AUX Input or VAIO3 will fall back to another device silently. Reset those applications' audio settings after the reboot.
Which one, in one line each
- Headphones and a microphone, nothing fancy — Standard.
- Streaming, recording or calls while gaming — Banana.
- Stems, LAN audio, a rack, a DAW — Potato.